


Parachute

by overratedantihero



Category: DCU (Comics), Green Lantern (Comics), Justice League - All Media Types, The Flash (Comics)
Genre: Canon Typical Violence, Furious Hal, Hurt Barry, Hurt and comfort, Injury and recovery, M/M, Major Character Injury, Monster of the Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-24 11:30:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13212810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/overratedantihero/pseuds/overratedantihero
Summary: Barry uses a maneuver he and Hal have perfected. Except, Hal's not there to catch him this time.





	Parachute

**Author's Note:**

> I love how easily Barry throws himself off of buildings and villains when he's with the Justice League. He's always got complete faith that Green Lantern (or someone) will catch him. So I couldn't help but think, what if no one does?

The Flash zipped next to a building, to regroup and catch his breath. The fight with the Eldritch Monster of the Week was going… poorly. Two high rises had already been leveled. Clark was gritting his teeth, trying to distract monstrous creature (but acting as its punching bag) while Diana sought weak points along with Bruce. Arthur leapt at the creature, and Cyborg made an nth attempt at brute force. Barry had tried to knock it off balance, and he’d kept the debris neat and out of everyone else’s path, but he could feel the strain. Sweat clung to him underneath the suit, and was beginning to tremble. Barry groaned, but then caught the eyes of a terrified bystander, too close to be safe.

Barry immediately straightened his shoulders, slowed his breathing, and smiled. The bystander weakly smiled back. Zipping close, Barry reached out.

“You’re a bit too close to the action, don’t ya think? Do you mind if I take you somewhere else?”

The person hesitated, but then looked at Barry’s lightning symbol and nodded enthusiastically. Barry lifted them and with a little gentle prying managed to get the name of the street where they lived. He was familiar enough; he dropped the civvie off and returned within a few minutes.

But when he returned, the fight had gotten worse. The others were slowing, or growing weary, and it was becoming obvious. Too obvious. Arthur looked the worst, frustrated and raging against impenetrable skin. Victor had sparks flying from a missing component. Diana, on the other hand, looked determined, level. Barry followed her movement, watched her aim for the creature’s face only to be forced to dart away from his jaws. She had the lasso wrapped one of the massive teeth in its maw, her sword gripped in the hand not holding tightly to the golden rope. The strain in her arm was apparent, she was trying to force the creature to tilt its head, and with sudden clarity, Barry saw why.

The creature’s eyes were the only point of possible penetration.

With renewed vigor, Barry tapped into the speedforce and scaled the massive body. He passed by Diana, purposefully, so she’d see the flash and know that he understood. The trip up was easy, it always was. But once Barry blinded the beast, it would thrash and or quite possibly fall as it tripped over the other heroes. But Barry had practiced this maneuver thousands of times. All he had to do was get up, Green Lantern would catch him on the way down.  

Grinning and bursting with the vigor of rekindled hope, Barry reached the creature and grossly, disgustingly, dived into its exposed eye before it could even register his presence on its body.

Diana had been right. The creature let out a deafening scream, opened his jaw wide enough for Batman to fly a drone down it’s gullet. As it tried to writhe, Diana and Clark gripping the distracted beast together and flew up, taking it to the nearest ocean, where Mera waited beside the dimensional rift that allowed it into their world in the first place. Cyborg gripped Aquaman to follow and Barry, on muscle memory, leapt from the monster’s head and relaxed in preparation for his impact with one of Hal’s constructs.

Quicker than the others could even register what Barry had done, Barry remembered that Hal was away, on Oa or running Oa or doing whatever Hal did when he went on leave.

They didn’t have a Green Lantern.

There would be no light construct.

Barry was going to hit the ground.

* * *

 

Hal wrenched his way into the Watchtower, barely staying mindful enough to avoid shredding the steel that he’d help place. But every layer that went into the Watchtower’s exterior protected the interior. Specifically, the humans and meta-humans among them who wouldn’t be able to breath or to withstand the atmosphere. Particularly Barry.

Rage tearing at his insides (Hal vaguely sympathized with the Red Lanterns, who spit their rage as if it were caustic), Hal tore his way through the halls and levels of the Watchtower, choosing to fly rather than allow his boots to touch solid ground. John and Kyle followed just behind, grimacing as they attempted to navigate the various railings and turns and corridors. They’d come along once they’d heard. They didn’t want to leave Hal alone. And they didn’t want to leave the others alone with Hal.

When they reached the Med Bay, Hal came to an abrupt halt. Wonder Woman and Superman stood in from of the triple reinforced doors, arms crossed as if they anticipated denying him entry. Hal landed and strode towards them, green light flickering all around him in an inferno. By the time he’d reached them, Diana had the decency to uncross her arms, but neither looked impressed.

“Relax, Hal,” Clark began, loosening his arms and holding his palms out. “He’s alive. He’s going to be okay.”

“You let this happen,” Hal spat, jutting a finger into the Man of Steel’s chest. It was unpleasant, but Hal could suffer the unpleasant if it meant getting through those doors. “You all did,” he hissed, turning towards Diana. She met his glare with a peace that he’d only ever seen before on Saint Walker. Or on Barry.

The rage roiled all over again, and Hal moved to shove past Clark and Diana. When they reached out to stop him, he created a glowing emerald broadsword.

“Ring’s not for show,” Hal ground out. “Move, and let me see what you did to Barry.”

“He’s still healing,” Diana murmured. “It’s taken hours to set his wounds and reshape him. He’s healing beautifully, but he will not be lucid enough to see you yet. And if he is, he won’t be able to speak.”

“Hal,” Clark gripped Hal’s construct tightly, holding the sword low by the blade, “stand down.”

Hal narrowed his eyes. “Is that what you’d say if it had been Lois?” He swiveled on his heels, dissipating the sword construct to point a finger at Diana. “Or Steve?”

Neither Clark nor Diana looked surprised, but both shifted and Clark glanced away. Diana met Hal’s glare.

“If it had been Steve, or Barbara Ann, or Etty, I would shred this tower before I allowed myself to be barred from seeing them,” Diana murmured, stepping aside. “But,” she added, holding out an arm before Hal could pass, “remember, Green Lantern, that Barry is not Steve or Barbara Ann or Etty or Lois. Barry is a metahuman, he can sustain far more injuries. But like the rest of our loved ones, he will always throw himself into a fight to protect others and preserve good. You cannot treat his choices as our fault because we did not forbid him from acting. He will always act.”

“Duly noted, Princess,” Hal muttered, shoving past her and Clark now that they’d acquiesced. John placed a hand on Clark's shoulder, but he and Kyle hung back while Hal continued on.

The scanner passed over his face and the doors slide open, announcing his presence. Batman and a few other individuals who Hal didn’t immediately recognized stood clustered around backlit x-rays, all dressed in scrubs and surgical masks (even Bruce, still donning his Batman attire, had a seafoam green stretch of cloth covering his usually exposed mouth and jaw.) Hal caught a look at the x-rays and fear tore through him as if he still hosted Parallax.

If those were Barry (and they must be, who else could they be?) then he had shattered. Hal had seen Barry come back from broken limbs within hours, but these weren’t just fractures. There were bone fragments and deformity and Hal didn’t realize it, but green energy pulsated around him like a racing pulse. The sterile scent was so thick he thought he might choke, and he hardly registered Bruce approaching him until Bruce grabbed his shoulder.

“ _Lantern_ ,” Bruce barked. “You have no business here.”

Hal blinked. “God, Bruce, you’re gonna be an asshole? Even right now?” Hal spat, throwing his hands in the air. “I need to see Flash. Where is he?”

“He’s recovering from a day and a half of surgeries, and injuries so severe that he’d be dead fifteen times over if he weren’t a metahuman, do not test your welcome here, Lantern.”  Bruce looked at him with a disdain that managed to penetrate his surgical mask and cowl. But before Hal could respond, a mechanical voice broke the tension.

“GL?” it asked.

Hal turned his head and that’s when he saw the body, laid out in a full cast, five fingers on one hand exposed and typing at rapid pace on a keyboard held at a convenient height nearby. Hal couldn’t see the figure’s face, but he knew who it was immediately.

Bruce cleared his throat, “We had to set most of his body for it to heal properly. His trachea is still collapsed. But his fingers sustained some of the least damage, so we’ve given him a temporary system with which to communicate. He types--”

“And the computer speaks, I got it, Bats. You’re excused,” Hal snapped, half jogging towards Barry’s side without wasting time to be anymore smug. Barry’s face was completed wrapped in what appeared to be gauze, plaster, and thin metal (such as across his nose. Hal realized with horror it may be maintaining the shape of Barry’s nose while he healed.) But big blue eyes looked up at Hal, and Hal wanted to cry.

“Be nice,” the mechanical voice chided as Barry’s fingers flew without Barry even tilting his head or glancing away. Hal scowled and closed the curtains so that he and Barry could share some privacy. Then, he returned to Barry’s side, gripping the bed railing so tightly that his fingers burned.

“No. They let you fall,” Hal whispered, loosening his grip on the railing and sinking to his knees. He didn’t dare touch Barry, but he did lean his forehead on the edge of Barry’s bed. “You’re not a flyboy. They know better.”

“Not their fault. I jumped.” The voice said, too coldly. “Didn’t warn htem.” The typo almost lightened the mood, but Barry hastily corrected it. “Them.”

“B-Flash, why?” Hal whined, mindful of the various medical professionals milling about, in earshot. “Whydja jump? You almost _died_. Fuck, man, look at you. They’re barely holding you together.”  The keyboard must have had raised letters, because Barry continued to type while glancing away. Barry’s closed his eyes when he finished typing. Without being able to gauge his voice, Hal wasn’t sure if it was because he was in pain or because he was sleepy. Hal doubted that even Batman could come up with an anesthetic concoction strong enough for Barry, but then again, the Bat could be creative.

“Forgot,” the voice said. When Barry’s fingers rested idly, Hal picked up his head.

“Forgot what?” Hal pushed. Barry hesitated, and Hal worried that maybe he’d passed out, but then began typing again.

“Forgot you weren’t there to catch me.”

Hal’s heart shattered even as his will steeled. “Well, I’m here now,” he said, standing. “And I’m not leaving until you’re fucking up Central City’s roads again.”

Barry opened his eyes and typed. “Can’t promise that.”

“Like hell I can’t,” Hal muttered, flinging the curtain aside and stalking off. After a brief argument with Batman, Hal scanned the x-rays with his ring and then stormed out of the room. John and Kyle followed after him, both pestering him with questions. They didn’t receive answers until the three of them had long left the Milky Way behind.

When they reached Oa, it took only some shouting and one brief round of fisticuffs before they managed to bulldoze their way into an audience with the Guardians. Five hours later, Hal was shooting back down into the Watchtower. This time, there wasn’t anyone barring the Med Bay doors, and Hal passed through without a problem. Hal was pleased to see most of the bandages removed from Barry’s face, and even his full body cast had been reduced to a mostly-fully-body-cast.

The best part, however, was that Barry smiled when he saw Hal. “Give a mixed signal when you disappear like that,” Barry said. He spoke rapidly and clumsily, as if while chewing cotton and after swallowing a forest fire’s worth of smoke, but it was still _his_ voice. Hal grinned, dopily.

“Yeah, well. I had to put my affairs in order.”

Barry closed his eyes in lieu of his usual wrinkled eyebrows. “What affairs?” Barry asked, opening his eyes again for emphasis. “Picture that ‘what’ italicized. I can’t express too much tone yet,” Barry added, voice deteriorating in his effort to explain his deteriorated voice.

“Where’s your Stephen Hawking keyboard?” Hal asked, glancing around. “Tell them to bring that back, you sound like you’ve been drinking gasoline for the past thirty years.”

“I’m 26,” Barry reminded him.

“I know, that’s my point,” Hal shot back. “But back to my affairs, which you want to sound skeptical over. I met with the Guardians. I’ve got six months home leave. I’ll have reduced ring power, so let’s hope against another kaiju, but I’ll be all yours.”

Barry’s eyes widened. “How…?” he rasped.

Hal shrugged. “The Corps has a family medical leave policy. Sort of. Doesn’t matter, I’m here. I can catch you now.” And then, because Barry’s eyes were looking too misty for comfort, Hal quickly added, “Not that you’re going to be jumping for a _long_ time. Once we’re outta here and back into your quarters, strict bed rest. And after _that_ , when we’re in Central City, I’m going to be spotting you on every bank robbery, hostage situation, burning building, and lost cat case.” Hal crossed his arms over his chest. “If one of your Rogues so much as sneezes, I’ll be there. Clear?”

Barry kept grinning. “Clear. GL?”

“Yeah?” Hal asked, hand twitching as he resisted the urge to run his fingers through Barry’s hair.

“Thanks. For catching me.”

Hal furrowed his eyebrows. “I didn’t, you--”

“Not then,” Barry interrupted. “Now. Thank you. I love you.”

For the second time that day, Hal sunk to his knees beside Barry. “I love you too,” Hal murmured, quietly, into the bed railing. There were still medical professionals wandering around, occasionally poking their heads through Barry’s curtain to check on him. Batman still haunted the Med Bay too, his gruff voice occasionally carried over. Hal didn’t care.

Hal didn’t move until Barry could too.


End file.
